Review: After the Crash by Michel Bussi

On a cold winter's night, a flight bound for Paris crashes into the mountainside.  Flames engulf the plane, killing all but one of the survivors.  The sole survivor is a three-month-old baby girl, ejected from the plan on impact.  Identifying her proves to be a challenge when it is discovered that two infants were on board the flight.

Two families, from vastly different backgrounds, step forward to await the decision regarding the infant's identity.  The Vitrals live a meager life, a food truck that sells snacks along the beaches of Northern France serves as their means of a livelihood.  The de Carvilles, on the other hand, are full of wealth and power.

Eighteen years later, Crédule Grand-Duc, a private detective hired to solve the mystery of the surviving girl, is ready to give up. So frustrated at his lack of new information, he is ready to take his own life.  Before he is able to complete the act, he discovers something so obvious, hidden in plain view.

Now eighteen years old, Lylie struggles to learn more about her past, and her true identity.  The plane crash that took her parents' life has shaped her existence far more than she could imagined.  When she comes across a journal that sheds light on these secrets, she disappears, desperate to get some finality and concrete answers.  She leaves behind Marc, the closest relationship she's been able to forge over these years.  She's not alone in her quest for answers.  Others are willing to resort to murder if it means learning the truth.

Told in alternating narratives, this book is completely unlike what I expected! Though we experience the story from three different viewpoints, it’s difficult to discern which, if any, we should trust.  This was a brilliantly executed “who dunit” meets “who is it,” leaving me questioning everything I’d read.  Chock full of twists and turns, this isn’t only the hunt for an identity, but also a examination of loss, the steps individuals would take to find comfort in that loss.

Bussi has crafted some pretty unlikable and unreliable characters. This might be my only qualm with this book; I didn’t find myself sympathizing with any of the characters.  This isn’t necessarily a  bad thing; I don’t believe it necessary to like characters I’m reading about.  Perhaps it would have added a different dimension to my reading experience, however, if I was able to form some sort of bond.

All in all, this was an incredibly fast-paced, well-written character-led thriller. Highly recommended.